Not Quite Eye to Eye
by ObsessiveFanNumber1
Summary: Set post-movie. Thor visits the memorial Odin created for Loki every day, regretting every time he never noticed what Loki wanted all along. Loki watches invisibly every day, trying to convince himself he should hate Thor. Chapter 2 UPLOADED finally!
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, who was upset that "X-Men: First Class"came out on DVD before "Thor"? *raises hand* And who squealed when they found out "Thor"'s release date? *raises hand higher* Yeah, that would be me...Anyways, yay! Another "Thor" story from me! If you remember me from **_**Don't Tell Me That**_**, then you are the coolest person in the world. (By the way, that story is on the last page! Can you believe it? I'm so happy people write/update "Thor" stories!) Anyways...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "Thor". If I did, it definitely would've come out on DVD sooner. Now onto the story!**

* * *

_A tribute to Loki Odinson._

Those few words were all the gods could stand after what Loki had done.

Nothing about the good in him. Nothing about his intentions. Nothing about the reason behind it all. Nothing.

Thor's hand clenched into a fist and the knowledge. Months later, and Loki's words still echoed in his mind, haunting him.

"_I never wanted the throne! All I ever wanted was to be your equal!"_

How could he have not seen? After so many centuries together, claiming to be the closest to Loki of any of the gods? Everything the two had been through together, and still he'd never seen? Thor hated himself for being so ignorant. All Loki had wanted...and Thor had only thought about himself, even when Loki was obviously pleading for acknowledgement.

* * *

"_Thor?"_

_The older god looked over his shoulder, trying to hide his annoyance. "Yes?" he said, sighing. It had to be the five hundredth time that day Loki had come to him with some silly reason, like "just checking in". Now was the worst timing of all five hundred, though; Thor was about to meet with Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun for a quest, and after spending months trying to talk them into going, the teenage-equivalent god just wanted to start._

_Loki looked down, biting the inside of his lip. "Can I come?"_

"_What? No!" Thor said instantly. "Loki, this isn't for kids."_

"_I'm not a kid!" Loki cried indignantly. "You're not that much older!"_

"_Go back to the palace, brother." Thor twirled his sword in his hand. Normally he would have more patience for his little brother, but after five hundred pointless times speaking for a couple seconds, he was starting to grow weary of Loki. "Father gave _me_ permission for this. You're still too young."_

"_Am not!" Loki shouted, balling his hands into fists. "You're only three years older!"_

_Thor blew it off with a dismissive wave. "You're too young. Just go back." Loki glared at him and ran off._

* * *

He'd thought at the time Loki was just being whiny. But now, far too late, he understood the real reason Loki had wanted to come along. He'd wanted to be praised for the success of the quest with them. He'd wanted _Odin's_ praise. And every time, Thor had denied him that without realizing. He'd never realized that he was slowly tearing his brother apart... _If only you knew, brother...if only you knew the regret I feel for that..._ Thor wasn't surprised by the tears that threatened to slide free from his eyes. It certainly wouldn't be the first time in the months since Loki had fallen from the rainbow bridge.

* * *

He didn't understand.

He was supposed to hate Thor. He'd convinced himself of that much.

But he...couldn't.

Invisible, he watched Thor standing by the stone, tears streaking down his face. _This is all wrong. He shouldn't be upset like this. He never cared enough to be this upset._

His eyes narrowed like a snake's. He'd made it back to Asgard in the months since the whole...incident. And every day, it was the same. Thor visited Heimdall to check if there were any updates on the woman, and then came here, to this small memorial stone Odin had created for him. Even when he was believed dead, he still came second. That stung more than he would ever be able to admit aloud. And Odin...he hadn't seen Odin here once. He tried not to acknowledge the pain from the silent knowledge that Odin had never been here since creating it. It seemed nothing, not even supposedly dying, would make him important enough to them.

_I don't need to be important to them. They're liars! I don't want to be important to them! I don't care if they think nothing of me!_

A humorless smile tugged at his lips. How amusing that he almost believed 'dying' would make them care any more. Like they cared at all.

He tried to convince himself that the knowledge caused him no sorrow.

_Odin, Thor...no one cared...no one cares _now_ enough for it._

_Or maybe they do,_ a quiet voice insisted in the back of his mind. _After all, Odin still created this memorial. Thor still visits every day._

He sighed, tracing a small stone in his hand. He may be the god of trickery, but when it came to this, Loki couldn't trick himself, no matter how much he wanted to.

* * *

**And again, I feel even worse for Loki now that I wrote this. But I feel bad for Thor now, too. *sighs* Time to face it: I'm hopelessly in love with these two. *smiles* I've got another story started with these two, but I need a title for it before I can upload it (summary is on my profile - let me know if you've got any title ideas *hint hint* *laughs*). Anyways, review? I'd appreciate it! Let me know if I should leave this as a one-shot or if I should continue with it. And thanks a ton for all the reviews and favorites for **_**Don't Tell Me That**_**, too.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry…the world of "Thor" has now been exposed to my terribleness at updating in a timely manner. *facedesks* But I just got a really good idea for chapter 2 of this fic, and since I have my laptop here with me…*shrugs, grinning* And plus, "THE AVENGERS" CAME OUT! *fangirl squeal* I went to see it last night, and IT WAS AMAZING! Best! Movie! Ever! :D The scene toward the beginning where Thor and Loki are talking gave me some good inspiration, so some of this may seem a little similar to that. ;P I don't own "Thor" or anything. Now onto chapter 2 of **_**Not Quite Eye to Eye**_** (finally)!**

* * *

Loki watched, still in silence. Everything he'd done…everything that had happened to separate them…nothing could change those. Nothing could change any of it. His hands were clenched into tight fists, forcing himself to keep the pain locked away. Now wasn't the time for pain. Now was simply a time for observation, for pinpointing weakness.

He knew a battle with Thor was coming again. He was going to be prepared for it. Even if no one else knew it was coming—no one else bothered to search for proof he was alive—that was something he would take advantage of. He wouldn't be caught off guard. Nothing—not even the small part of him that wanted to think of Thor as his brother still—would stop him this time.

* * *

The water flowing from Thor's eyes had mostly stopped, but he still wiped away what was there. "Brother," he whispered, his hand resting on the stone. With Loki gone, this was the only place—the only thing—connecting him to his lost brother. "I'm sorry…"

* * *

"You're sorry _now_?" The words shot out of Loki's mouth. His eyes widened instantly, and he took a step back, even as Thor turned.

Blue eyes went wide, shock, surprise, regret, and a hint of hopefulness merging in them. "Loki?"

A thin, bitter smile crossed Loki's lips. "Hello, Thor," he said coldly, looking at him out of the corner of his eye. "You didn't expect me to be gone forever now, did you?"

"Brother…" Thor spoke almost too softly, the tone stabbing through Loki worse than any blade. He started to reach out to Loki, but the trickster god pulled away.

"Don't call me that, Thor." He turned away, covering the pain like he'd done so many times before. "I'm not your brother any more than I'm an Asgardian."

"How did you get back to Asgard?"

"A break in the Bifrost is nothing to stop my magic. You should know that, at least." Loki's voice was quiet, but the stillness around them made hearing him no trouble. Walking forward and laying a hand on the stone, he scowled, reading the words. "Quite the memorial," he said, quiet sarcasm dripping from the words, his voice still soft and cool. "I should only expect more from Odin when it comes to his own son."

"Loki…"

"Quiet," Loki snapped. "Don't pretend otherwise. You know the truth—about what I am." His voice almost, but didn't quite, break on the word 'what'. "And Odin will _never_ stand to acknowledge taking in a Frost Giant." Bitterness filled his voice.

"Father did only what he thought was best," Thor said softly, his eyes tortured as he watched the man he'd been raised to know as his brother.

"'What he thought was best'," Loki mocked. "Refusing to tell me the truth. Tell me, _brother_, arrogant and foolish as you are, do you honestly believe that?"

"He didn't want you to feel different." Thor knew. He understood why the All-Father had such a hard time with Loki. Odin was tormented by Loki's true parentage more than anyone, but he tried to treat Loki no different than any of the others. No different than Thor.

"Well, he certainly failed at that," Loki hissed, stepping deliberately around Thor without taking his eyes off of the stone. Thor watched him silently, never looking away from his brother. "The All-Father is a cowardly fool, Thor. You've known that all along, but now you refuse to acknowledge it."

"Our father is wiser than either of us will ever be."

"_Your_ father," Loki corrected bitterly. "You claim that, but you question his judgment the same way you always have. Odin is content to stay hidden away here in Asgard, but you…" A new glimmer lit his eyes. "…you have even less reason now to hide away like a good little prince. You have that woman on Earth that you want to see again."

Automatically, Thor tensed slightly. "Jane has nothing to do with any of this. Leave Earth out of your grudges against our father and me."

"It's too late for that." Loki was smiling now, a cold, bitterly humorless smile. "They're preparing for war. They've seen our power. _They're afraid of us_." He looked Thor in the eye. "As well they should be."

"They shouldn't have any reason to fear us, brother."

"Stop calling me that!" Loki wanted to yell the words, but he held back, keeping his voice quiet. "You and I are not brothers."

"Loki, please—"

"You've seen that Odin has no love of Jotuns. What makes you believe that he would think any different of me?"

"Because you are his son!"

"I have _never_ been Odin's son!" Loki spat, whirling on Thor. "That is something that has _always_ been meant only for you! He may claim it, but Odin has never seen me as anything more than a stolen relic from Jotunheim! After he decided that I wasn't a means of 'achieving peace' between Asgard and Jotunheim, I was worthless to him." His voice was softer now, sharp enough that they cut his own heart. He hated it. "Everything I did was to prove to Father that I was your equal."

"You called him 'Father'." Thor spoke the words quietly, almost not daring to hope. Hearing that one word from Loki, there was a small chance that there was still hope. He knew what Loki truly wanted. All their lives, Thor had been Odin's favorite; both of them knew it, just like Loki was Frigga's favorite. It had never really bothered Thor, but he knew Loki longed for Odin to be as proud of him as he was of Thor, just once. That was why Loki had started all of this in the first place.

Loki stiffened. He hadn't meant to refer to Odin as 'Father'. He didn't want to admit that he still wanted to think of them as his family. He couldn't admit that. Not to Thor. Not when another battle was coming. He couldn't show any weakness to Thor. "The All-Father has never loved anyone the same way he cares about you, Odinson," Loki said coldly.

"You bear that name, too, brother." Thor hated the tone in Loki's voice, like he was so separate from everything they'd been through together. Their entire lives, the two of them had been closer than any of the gods, but now…

"Only the name." Loki gave a small, bitter smile. "And now, not even that."

* * *

***sigh* That's probably not a good place to cut off, but I'm running out of computer time, and I REALLY want to update this. I'll try to update a lot faster this time than last time! In the meantime, please review! Also, if you get a chance, please check out my Avengers one-shot, **_**If Anyone Would Know**_**. I just uploaded it, so reviews for that one are appreciated, too. ;) Adios for now!**


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